Objectives: The annual increase in costs and the quality of life of survivors of cardiac arrest are major concerns. This study used National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan to evaluate the 1-year survival rate and the annual healthcare costs of survivors after cardiac arrest.
Methods: This retrospective, fixed-cohort study conducted from 2006 to 2012, involved 2 million individuals randomly selected from the NHIRD of Taiwan. Adult patients at least 18 years old who were diagnosed with cardiac arrest were enrolled. Survival was followed up for 1 year.
Results: In total, 2,256 patients were enrolled. The survivor cohort accounted for 4% (89/2256) of the study population. There were no significant differences in the demographic characteristics of the survival and non-survival cohorts, with the exceptions of gender (male: survival vs. non-survival, 50.6% vs. 64.5%, p = 0.007), diabetes mellitus (49.4% vs. 35.8%, p = 0.009), and acute coronary syndrome (44.9% vs. 31.9%, p = 0.010). Only 38 (1.7%) patients survived for > 1 year. The mean re-admission to hospital during the 1-year follow up was 73.5 (SD: 110.2) days. The mean healthcare cost during the 1-year follow up was $12,953. Factors associated with total healthcare costs during the 1-year follow up were as follows: city or county of residence, being widowed, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (city or county of residence, β: -23,604, p < 0.001; being widowed, β: 25,588, p = 0.049; COPD, β: 14,438, p = 0.024).
Conclusions: There was a great burden of the annual healthcare costs of survivors of cardiac arrest. Socioeconomic status and comorbidity were major confounders of costs. The outcome measures of cardiac arrest should extend beyond the death, and encompass destitution. These findings add to our knowledge of the health economics and indicate future research about healthcare of cardiac arrest survivors.